R. Michael Gallagher, the former medical school dean on trial on federal bribery charges, earned the same cash bonuses as his colleagues, and did not receive a windfall because he hired an influential senator who steered money to the school, according to testimony today from the federal corruption trial of Gallagher and former state Sen. Wayne Bryant.

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey vice president and defense witness Robert Saporito said the bonuses he recommended for Gallagher -- totaling $114,000 over three years -- were not related to the dean hiring Bryant, or to the money Bryant funneled to the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Camden County as the chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Under questioning by Gallagher's attorney Jeremy Frey, Saporito confirmed Gallagher received a $15,000 bonus when he became interim dean, followed by two 4 percent merit raises amounting to $42,000 in 2004 and $56,875 in 2005.

The merit pay structure was recommended by Mercer Associates, a Human Resources firm hired by UMDNJ. All other deans and other top administrators received the same percentage increase, Saporito said.

Federal prosecutors have accused Gallagher of bribing Bryant with a sham job that allowed him to inflate his pension in order to guarantee Bryant's aid in finding money for the medical school. Among the roughly $12 million prosecutors say Bryant helped secure for the school, $2.3 million went to the New Jersey Cares Institute and the $200,000 for the Institute for Successful Aging.

On cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Lurie pressed Saporito to admit obtaining more money for the school would help Gallagher improve the school's reputation.
"Dr. Gallagher's ability to grow these centers would figure in to Dr. Gallagher's bonus, as his ability hire and retain staff?" Lurie asked.

Saporito agreed.

"You can't do any of these things without money, can you?''

"It would be very difficult,'' Saporito replied.

Although it was not mentioned while he was on the witness stand, Saporito left UMDNJ under pressure two years ago. A federal monitor overseeing the university's troubled finances found Saporito had systematically abused his expense account. Saporito immediately resigned after interim university President Bruce Vladeck was briefed on the report.